Reviews

Eturuia Mandarin Olive Oil - Organic

Etruria Mandarin Olive Oil - 250 ML Umbria, Italy This is a great oil! A great representation of what olive oil from Umbria should be like. With its own special mix of citrus and olives together it is a wondrous plume of taste that envelops your nose and your senses.

Here in the bottle, the Mandarin orange and their wonderful citrus sweetness (think of that little spritz of oil when you peel a tangerine) blended perfectly with the olives robust fruity oils to create a magical flavor. Like Giuseppe's Sorrento lemon olive oil, this full-flavor combination is not just for table finishing, it also holds up well in the heat of the kitchen.

Serving Suggestions

This is the perfect oil to brighten your salads, fish, and vegetable dishes. And as always, we also love our oils paired with just a crusty bread.

About the Producer

In ancient times, portions of Umbria were conquered by the Etruscans and became part of what the Romans called Etruria -- the name adopted by Giuseppe for the name of his Umbrian specialty products company.

To talk to Giuseppe Cagnoni about his company, Etruria, is to talk about olives - specifically Umbrian olives. Giuseppe produces his olive oil in the small Umbrian town of Trevi. The small town of Trevi is perched on a pyramid of a hill surrounded by miles and miles of olive groves. This is where five generations of Giuseppe Cagnoni's family have grown olives and pressed them into exceptional oil. As in the old days, much of the work is done by hand - and everything is organic.

The primary olive used is Muraiolo, an Umbrian specialty, with small amounts of Leccino and Frantoio rounding out the blend. Only the first pressing of his finest organically grown olives are pressed for this oil. In various parts of Italy, farmers often press small amounts of olives with fresh citrus fruit to create heavenly scented oils for family and friends.

About the Olives

University researchers have dated the rootstock for some of Giuseppe's trees back to 1,000 B.C. . . It seems the olives were there even before the Etruscans. The main olive variety planted on the Cagnoni property is Moraiolo, a specialty of Umbria. However, Moraiolo is not self-pollinating, and so the property is also planted with small amounts of Frantoio and Leccino, both Tuscan staples. The groves are planted on the rugged hillsides in parcels that are 380-600 m. above sea level.

Giuseppe's father, Eugenio, is a master pruner who carefully prunes all the trees once a year the old-fashioned way: climbing a ladder and working from the top down. His services are in demand by other producers.